


Brothers

by TheUpdogAcademy



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Timelines, Brotherly Bonding, Brothers, Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Good Sibling Diego Hargreeves, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Klaus Hargreeves Has PTSD, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Mentioned Allison Hargreeves, Mentioned Ben Hargreeves, Mentioned Luther Hargreeves, Mentioned Vanya Hargreeves, Nightmares, Post-Canon, Protective Diego Hargreeves, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, Soft Diego Hargreeves, Soft Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 17:17:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22219510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheUpdogAcademy/pseuds/TheUpdogAcademy
Summary: Post-Timetravel. Takes place after the finale "The White Violin".Diego finds Klaus not too far from his location and in bad shape after the travel. He decides to prioritize his brother first before anything else.
Relationships: Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Diego Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 61
Kudos: 323





	1. What Now?

**Author's Note:**

> I constantly have ideas plaguing me, especially while I wait for a next season to roll around and I could not for the life of me shake this off. So have this drabble.
> 
> Anyways, comments and such are always appreciated!
> 
> Will possibly add more tags as I go on, I'm not good at tagging.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-Timetravel. Takes place after the finale "The White Violin".
> 
> Diego finds Klaus not too far from his location and in bad shape after the travel. He decides to prioritize his brother first before anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I constantly have ideas plaguing me, especially while I wait for a next season to roll around and I could not for the life of me shake this off. So have this drabble.
> 
> Anyways, comments and such are always appreciated!
> 
> Will possibly add more tags as I go on, I'm not good at tagging.

Diego's head is pounding the moment he pushes himself off the ground of the alleyway he now finds himself in. The dark haired man grimaces and lets out a groan as nausea suddenly sets in. He has a hard time keeping the sickness down, but he manages. It takes a minute for the static in his ears to fade.

Diego mumbles to himself.  _ 'How the hell does Five always do this…?' _

Time-travel is a real bitch, he decides.

The first thing Diego does is stand and look himself up and down. He still appears to be in his adult body. Thank god.

Diego reaches out, leaning against one of the nearby walls with his leather-clad hands pressing against it and pulls himself along. He makes his way to the end of the alley and when some of the buildings across the street come into view, he quickly recognizes the area. Aside from maybe one or two stores he didn't recognize, it was mostly the same. This part of town is a lot quieter than some of the other areas, but despite that it was normally very crime riddled. Diego made many busts here when doing his nightly vigilante rounds. He notes that it looks to be midday, almost evening, and dark clouds were forming.

Thanks to incoming moon rocks and death looming over them, Five had absolutely no time to calculate their travel. So Diego knew where he was, but not  _ when. _ And to top it all off, it looks like they all got separated or at least he got separated from the rest. He was alone. Diego could handle himself though. They all probably could, even Five, the murderous little bastard. Allison may have lost her voice and power, but she knew how to throw down if she really needed to. He doesn't like the thought of Vanya still ending up with Luther since he actually held her during the trip, but it's better than her waking up alone. And then there's Klaus. He's street smart. Not exactly built for fighting though.

"Shit…" He mutters and then jumps at the sound of shouting coming from around the corner somewhere. Diego didn't notice it until he was close enough to the sidewalk at the end of the alley. On instinct he feels around for one of his many knives on his person, only to realize that he used them all during the assaults on the bowling alley and the theatre prior to the jump.

After cursing under his breath, Diego cautiously pokes his head around the corner for a better look. There was a lanky guy moving along the wall, similar to how he did a moment ago. He moves along the wall with his back to him, wobbly and unbalanced. The man was calling for Ben.

Diego tilts his head a bit and squints. "Klaus?"

The curly haired man flinches and stops in his tracks. He slowly turns his head to look, and when they exchange glances, a weak smile of relief plays across Klaus' face. Diego quickly returns a relieved smile of his own, only for it to fade just as fast.

Klaus looks more pale in the face than usual and trembles lightly, trying to keep himself steady against the wall. He makes an attempt to push himself off it.

That was a mistake.

"Di-" He slurred.

As Klaus' legs suddenly give out, he stumbles back against the brick wall and roughly slides down it. Diego's lightning quick reflexes allow him to move forward and grab his brother, crouching down with him. He drops to one knee and pulls Klaus up against him.

Diego's eyes widen in panic as he quickly scans his brother's features and notices the sweat beading up on his face. He slides off one of his gloves to press his hand against Klaus' forehead.

Diego huffs quietly. "You're burning up, bro."

Klaus lets out a small groan in response to Diego's cold hand on his heated skin, pressing into the touch and drifts off, his tired eyes fluttering closed.

Worry laced Diego's voice. "Come on Klaus, stay with me." He grimaces.

Diego curses the time-travel again, under his breath. It seems he handled it better than Klaus did, but then he remembers his brother stated he was sober. If that really was the case, then he's probably in withdrawal right now and he must have used a good amount of his energy in the theatre when he conjured Ben for as long as he did.

He wanted to hug his brother and tell him how proud he is of him. But now isn't the time or place.

Diego gives the area a once over for any sign of other people, but doesn't see anyone else, much less any of their siblings. He wants to shout for them, but he doesn't want to rattle Klaus' brain out of his head either. Loud sounds aren't good for someone in withdrawal. At least they won't attract unwanted attention.

He looks back down at his brother and asks softly. "Can you stand?" 

He waits a moment before realizing Klaus was out. Dammit. Diego slides his glove back on, then carefully scoops his brother up in his arms and pushes himself to his feet. And...damn, Klaus felt light. Lighter than he should be.

There's an old abandoned warehouse Diego knows of a few blocks from where they are and he prays it's still vacant in whatever time they were currently in. A warehouse probably isn't the best place for someone with a fever, but at least it was something and would give them some cover.

Diego gives a quick upward glance before rounding the corner and starting back down the alley he came out of. It was gonna rain soon.

Several alleyways and a few shady bystanders later, he spots it. Diego was right. The warehouse is still very vacant and it would be a perfect place to set up a base of operation, if everyone was actually here.

Diego really wants to know what time they were in and where everyone is currently, but his first priority is his eccentric little brother. If he had been going by their numbers that is.

Once inside, Diego sits Klaus up against one of the walls and makes sure he's as comfortable as possible. He turns his head to give the large room a once over. Then he looks back at his unconscious brother and stares, brows furrowing.

Diego isn't sure what he's gonna do yet, but he knows he needs to keep his brother safe.

* * *

None of them ever bothered to ask how Klaus' addictions started or why he started them, if he was okay or how he was doing. They never took him seriously. Never paid much attention to him. During their childhood, Klaus would disappear for hours on end and sometimes, he'd miss full meals. Breakfast, lunch, sometimes even dinner. And not once did any of them ever stop to ask him  _ why. _ Once he returned, no one would bother asking him where he'd been in all the time he was gone, despite nightmares following close behind and the screams that carried down the hallway from his room.

When the drugs came into play, it just made his case even worse. They never believed a word he said after that, not even his claims of seeing Ben.

Diego bit his bottom lip and rolled all of these thoughts over in his head quite a few times, feeling sick every time he did. He was still having a hard time processing the image of Ben actually standing there in the theatre. The seats blocked a lot of his view and then his attention fell on Cha-Cha when she entered the stage of the theatre. So he didn't really get a good look. If it weren't for the very faint hue of red Klaus had on him from the gunmen being shredded by Ben's corporeal tentacles, Diego would have thought it to be an illusion. But he wasn't about to downplay both of his brothers and their contribution to the fight either. If he didn't believe Klaus before, he surely believed him now. And he felt awful for it.

He shakes his head to dispel the thoughts as he stands and walks further into the warehouse, making sure to keep Klaus in his line of sight at all times. Sure he was probably being overprotective at this point, but he felt it was his job to be. Diego wants to be a better brother. He really and truly does. His younger brother was depending on him after all.

There were metal and wooden containers scattered about the warehouse. Lots of loose metal bits, like nails, screws, bolts, maybe a forgotten tool or two. A few unused steel beams of varying sizes lining the vacant walls and old cardboard boxes that have seen better days. It looked like a place Klaus would have called home only a week or so ago.

Diego closes his eyes and swallows his thoughts down again. He needs to focus on his current task and that was to find something good enough to pass off as a weapon, to utilize his power if the situation called for it. Surely the Commission knows by now that they won't let up on stopping the apocalypse.

He stops a moment to take in the drumming of rain on the metal outside, breathing deeply to relax himself, then continues on.

In the last few minutes he managed to scrounge up a few big glass shards from the broken upper windows, some rusted nails, and a screwdriver. Not much, but they'll have to do. He sets the shards and nails on top of a box nearby for easy access, but keeps the screwdriver on hand.

Diego cringes when he finds a used syringe laying around in one corner of the room. He quickly turns away from it, both for his sake and Klaus'.

A low rumble of thunder suddenly rattles the walls, followed by shouts and sobs cutting through the warehouse and Diego startles. When he realizes it's his brother, he quickly makes his way back, stopping only a couple of feet away from the form in front of him.

Panic sets in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things might be a bit slow after the first couple chapters, but I'll try and update as soon as I can. It's been quite awhile since I've done any writing and this is my first work in the fandom so yeah!
> 
> If you ever wanna talk about TUA with me, you can find me over on the-updog-academy.tumblr!


	2. I Never Knew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego helps Klaus through one of his nightmares and then comes to a realization about earlier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter of this little drabble. Enjoy!
> 
> Things will probably slow down after this just a bit, but I'll update when able.

There were a lot of things Diego still didn't know about his brother. He knew that during their childhood, Klaus would scream in his sleep, but he never could make out the words. And Diego never bothered to know, in fear of their father finding out. Mom was the one who stepped in when she needed to, but even she kept her actions limited.

Klaus was curling in on himself, nails digging into his own arms, trembling, crying, mumbling and shouting broken sentences.

"Let me out! I'm sorry I'll do better!"

"Don't leave me…"

"Dad, please!"

"No no no!"

"Go away!"

"Please leave me alone…"

"It hurts!"

"Shut up shut up shut up-"

Diego stares down at him silently, brows furrowed with worry. He's very confused at the words he was hearing.

But he knows a nightmare when he sees one.

Diego quickly drops down onto his knees in front of Klaus. He has a hard time trying to pull his brother's hands away from his arms, but he manages to finally pry them off and grips both wrists firmly in his left hand. He pulls them outward so he won't hurt himself.

This earns a violent response from Klaus, who starts thrashing and attempts to pull away. "Stop!" He seems terrified and his breathing is erratic.

"Klaus! Whoa whoa, hey!"

As Klaus fights back in his sleep, Diego takes his shoulder with his free hand and lightly shakes him.

"It's just a nightmare, you're okay!"

Diego's attempts at calming him fall flat. He moves his hand from Klaus' shoulder to his face and paps his cheek lightly.

"KLAUS!"

The part of him that's Number Two wanted to use his brother's given number, but he knew how demeaning that would be and bit his tongue. He grits his teeth, jaw clenched.

He sighs deeply.

"Klaus, please! Wherever you think you are, you're not there. You're NOT...t-there!" He swallows down the oncoming stutter, along with his building anxiety. "You're HERE, with me!"

After a moment, Klaus' eyes finally shoot open and he huffs out a breath. His dark haired brother flinches and stares at him with a bewildered look on his face, jaw still clenched.

Tears run down Klaus' face. He blinks a few times then screws his eyes shut, forcing more of them out. His head is pounding.

His shoulders tremble and then go slack as he tries to steady his breathing. He shakes with every breath.

"You're okay. You're okay…"

Diego softly tries to reassure him as he slowly loosens the grip on his wrists and lets him go. He moves both of his hands to Klaus' shoulders then, giving them both a light squeeze.

"Klaus, look at me." His voice is low.

He attempts to get his brother's attention, which proves difficult in the moment. The Séance's eyes were instead wandering, gazing upon empty spaces Diego could only deduce had ghosts occupying them.

Klaus' hands come up to clutch the dog tags hanging around his neck, the metal clanging together as he presses his back up against the wall, feeling uneasy.

This time Diego reaches up to firmly cup his brother's face in his hands.

"Look at me." His words were firm this time.

A pair of big green glistening eyes quickly settle on him and he relaxes. He blinks a few times. Diego has his attention now.

There's another metallic clang as Klaus releases the dog tags to reach up and grab his brother's wrists, but doesn't pull them away. He just leaves his hands there, as if hanging on for dear life, to stay grounded.

Diego takes it as a sign of trust and stares at Klaus for a moment before gently wiping the other man's wet eyes with his thumbs, smearing the already smeared eyeliner even more.

He pauses, gently tilting Klaus' head back for a better look. "Your eyeliner is smeared…s-sorry." Diego grimaces.

Klaus lets out a small broken chuckle. "It's fine-" His voice cracks. "-I don't really care. Pretty sure it was already smeared anyway."

The hint of sadness in the slighter man's voice made Diego's heart sink. He drops his gaze to look at the floor a moment, trying to gather his thoughts.

When he brings his head back up, Klaus is still looking at him and they lock eyes again.

"And where is... _here_...exactly?" Klaus speaks in question.

The leather-clad man clicks his tongue. "An old warehouse near the edge of town." He states as he pans around the room.

Diego turns his head to face his brother again. "You have a fever…and this was the only place that was close enough that I could think to bring you." His voice was low.

He couldn't help letting the worry in his voice slip through.

Klaus sighs deeply. "Oh, well thank you for that" His voice is a weak whisper compared to that of his brother's and the sound of water running off the warehouse almost drowned him out, but Diego doesn't miss the broken sob that escapes him.

Seeing Klaus so dragged down and static disturbed Diego. Klaus was supposed to be eccentric and outgoing. So full of energy.

He shakes his head. "You don't need to thank me for that, you're my brother." Diego's concern never falters. "How are feeling, you okay?"

The lanky man shoots Diego a sad smile at that. "Like I was hit by…" He pulls a face and winces. "...a toaster."

His brother tilts his head at the statement, a raised brow in confusion, but doesn't question it. It's Klaus. He doesn't need to.

Now that they're alone and have nowhere else to go, between the rain and his brother's defeated form, Diego can actually sit and talk to Klaus. To _really_ talk. So he takes the chance while he can.

"Hey Klaus..." He hesitates a bit before continuing. "You wanna tell me about that nightmare?"

Diego loosens his grip on Klaus' jaw, but keeps a hold of his face.

He knows Klaus may try to talk his way out of it somehow, but he genuinely wants to know what's been going on with his brother lately. If Diego was being honest, he's always wanted to know. He just never really got the chance until now. Or maybe he just wasn't being a good enough brother to have a chance, always busy with his own endeavors.

Klaus hums and contemplates the question at hand. It's a nice feeling, to be asked about it for once and not be brushed off. To be acknowledged by someone _living_.

He gives his brother's wrists a gentle squeeze before letting them go, allowing his hands to drop down into his lap.

His voice was low and broken. "Well…"

Diego's hands slowly break away from Klaus' face and drop down to the floor so he can reposition himself to sit next to him, and brings a leg up to rest his chin on. He tilts his head so his eyes are still on him though and he can tell by the way Klaus shifts his weight that he's walking the line of comfort and unease.

Diego reaches up to grip his brother's shoulder. "It's ok, Klaus."

Klaus felt like all eyes were on him, which isn't far from the truth seeing as he and Diego were the only two here. The Séance also wanted to forget the ghastly eyes boring into him from all different sides.

"Um…remember back when we were kids, and Dad put us through that extra training that he loved _oh_ _sooo_ much?" Klaus drew out the 'o' as his tired eyes wandered again before falling back on his older brother.

Diego hums. "How could I forget…" he rolls his eyes, not at Klaus, but out of spite at the man who was ultimately the cause of all their problems. Or most of them anyway. "Da-" He corrects himself. " _Reginald_ really did a number on us." He scoffed.

Klaus lightly giggles and feigns surprise. "So that's why I'm Number Four!" He clapped his hand over his heart dramatically.

Diego just looks at him shaking his head "Nah, you're Klaus." He tries to suppress a smile, but it doesn't work and the corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. He nodded for him to continue.

Sighing, Klaus pressed his back up against the metal wall, pulling his legs up and hanging his arms over them lazily. Diego watches his brother casting unfocused eyes ahead as he fidgets his fingers nervously.

Only rain on metal was heard for a time. A low rumble of thunder shaking the foundation every so often, causing Klaus to jolt. The only thing keeping him grounded at this point was Diego's presence next to him and a hand on his shoulder.

"I uh...well…he…" He trails off unable to get words out.

The moment Klaus pauses to swallow, Diego knows it's bad. He looks over at him expectantly.

"Dear ol' Dad locked me in the m-mausoleum in the courtyard overnight." Klaus' voice cracked a high pitch as he tried to hold back welling tears.

He sniffled. "And sometimes throughout the day as punishment." His throat clenched as he held back a sob.

"It was so cold and they were so… _loud_ , Diego _._ _SO_ ** _LOUD_** _."_ He bit that last word out as he clenched his jaw angrily.

"I just wanted out. They screamed at me for hours and wouldn't leave me the hell alone!" He whined, tears spilling down his cheeks and there was a pang as he leaned his head back against the wall ungracefully, eyes screwed shut.

He shook harder as a groan escaped him, his headache worsening.

"And they still don't." Tears continued sliding down his cheeks, eyes opening again. "They're always there...I can't make them go away."

Klaus' words cut through Diego like one of his knives and he found himself reaching over to the trembling man beside him.

"But the drugs...oh the drugs made things _SO much easimmh_ -"

"Klaus, stop." He abruptly cuts him off with a hand firmly pressed over his mouth and stares at him intensely. 

Diego softly begged him, shaking his head. "P-p-please, just s-stop."

He drops his hand to wrap both arms tightly around his little brother, pulling him close.

"It's okay. You're not there anymore and Dad is g-gone, bro. And I'll be d-damned if anything like that happens to you again." He squeezes him tighter. "Whoever tries will have to fight _me_. That includes Luther."

That last bit earns a choked up giggle from Klaus.

He wasn't used to this level of affection, especially from one of his siblings. And from Diego of all people, but Diego had a soft spot for Klaus unlike the rest of their siblings. If Klaus was being honest, the hardened vigilante was the one he looked up to the most. He was the only one who'd go out of his way to help Klaus even the smallest bit and never really judged him for what he wore or what he did. Sure he didn't agree with his addiction, but he never actively made him feel bad for it. He only encouraged healthier habits, gave him rides despite his own protests, made sure he ate, and had a place to stay whenever they crossed paths over the years. Diego was the only one who at least tried to stay in contact somehow and was there to get him out of any trouble he found himself in. He never outright denied Klaus' claims like Luther did on the daily, he only showed looks of wordless confusion at most. It's safe to say that Diego is Klaus' favorite sibling.

And he would never openly admit it, but Klaus has always been Diego's favorite too.

Diego doesn't let go of him for awhile, allowing Klaus to rest his chin on his shoulder and weep while he rubbed his back. Klaus held onto his brother like he was his only lifeline.

"And I'll help distract you from-" Diego lifts a hand up and gestures around the room with his finger. "-all of...this."

He's referring to the ghosts.

Ghosts. Diego remembered something from when he first reunited with his brother near the alley.

"Klaus." His name is drawn out with a hint of desperation.

Klaus lifts his head and leans back from Diego to look at him, bewildered at the sudden change in tone, and being called upon.

The Kraken held his breath for a bit, unsure if he should be asking this right now. There's a pause before he lands the question.

He bites his bottom lip. "Where's Ben?"

Klaus straightens up, eyes wide. They exchange looks.

_Oh shit._


	3. Shaken by Subtlety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The brothers talk a bit before Klaus gets some much needed rest. But then something weird happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly you guys have given me enough motivation to keep going! Keep fanning those flames, I appreciate it!~

Despite the fact that Klaus can see and talk to the dead, he was always dismissed when he claimed he could still see Ben. He partly blamed himself because of his drug addiction, but no one took the time to understand the reasoning behind it. No one took the time to actually hear him out. No one took him seriously. No one believed in him. No one bothered with him period. His family deemed him a disappointment and that was that. But then there was Diego, the only living sibling who didn't look at Klaus with judgement in his eyes. Instead he looked at him with confusion and curiosity, as if Klaus was a puzzle, riddle, or mystery that needed solving. He kept tabs on Klaus over the years and looked out for him while he was living out on the streets, doing whatever it was a drug addled medium did.

Eventually, even Diego drifted away from Klaus. He'd given up on him, let him down, and now he regretted every bit of it. Even after being reunited for the first time in years he tried to brush him off, only to fail and cave each time. Diego always caved when it came to Klaus. He loved his brother too much to deny those sad puppy eyes and the fake smiles he'd plaster onto his face to hide the pain. The pain _he_ never tried to address. The pain Number Four hid from their family and the world so well. He never fooled Number Two though.

Diego was thankful to Ben for staying with their brother for as long as he has, but now Ben is apparently gone and Klaus has no idea where he is. He could feel the change in atmosphere the moment he asked Klaus where he was and the sudden yet subtle drop in temperature was noticeable.

His brother is tense again. "Shit shit shit…"

And then there's a blue glow illuminating his hands like in the theatre, making several ghosts in the room appear corporeal. Klaus still isn't sure how he does this. Maybe it was tied to his emotions, like Vanya's appeared to be.

"Wh- Klaus what the-" A blue form appears standing to the right of him and he startles, eyes wide. "HEEELLO." He exclaims flatly.

Diego is not used to seeing ghosts, at all, ever. He's flipping his shit as he moves his eyes around the room and- oh shit. _He_ can see _them_. And _they_ see _him._

Diego sees more wounds on them than he's ever seen in his life up until now and cringes as he looks away, turning toward his medium-of-a-brother again. Is this what Klaus deals with every second of every minute of his life? He wouldn't be able to deal with it himself.

_'Christ on a cracker!'_ as Klaus would put it.

He realizes Klaus is using what little energy he has left, if any at all, and wants him to stop. Needs him to stop, _now_.

Diego moves his hands from where they were still at his brother's back, to his shoulders and gives them a firm squeeze. "Klaus, you're too sick to be doing that right now!" He sounds more aggressive than he means to be. But it works well enough, because the glowing stops and the corporeal ghosts fade out. Klaus let's out a pained gasp and doubles over, slumping against Diego, who wraps his arms around him again. This time Klaus is curled up against his chest.

Klaus starts to mumble. "He's not here...he's gone…" And the trembling comes back full force, along with his sobbing. He dips his head down, resting his forehead against Diego's shoulder.

"He's probably mad at me." The Séance chokes on his words.

Diego winces. He gets the feeling this happened all the time between his two brothers and he doesn't like it. If all of Klaus' siblings wouldn't listen, and Ben -the only one still hanging around him- disappeared, then where did that leave Klaus?

Alone.

Two doesn't like the sting that word leaves in his chest when he thinks about it. He tightens the hold on his brother, wanting to create a sense of security for him.

Diego tries to hide the hurt in his own voice. "I highly doubt that, Klaus." He reaches up to the back of his little brother's head and runs his fingers through his curls.

"Maybe Ben just got lost like everyone else..." He trails off as Klaus tenses up at another crack of thunder. "...maybe he's a-alive. Somewhere."

Four suddenly pushes himself away from Diego and reaches both hands up to clutch his head, wincing and groaning. "Oh god it hurts..." His voice is grainy.

Diego reaches out instinctively. "Whoa whoa. Take it easy, man."

Klaus lets himself drop back towards the wall, the back of his head almost hitting the metal again until Diego stops him with a hand gripping his shoulder.

"Keep doin' _that_ and you'll make it **_worse_**!" He snaps, irritation setting in. Truthfully, Diego felt a headache coming on too. But it's not Klaus' fault.

Four opens his eyes to look at his brother before looking down at his lap, feeling shaken. He mumbles out a sad 'sorry' as if he was being a burden and that's when Diego realizes he snapped at him without meaning to.

"Shit. No, _I'm_ sorry. It's okay...I just don't want you hurting yourself." He closes his eyes and shakes his head. "Head's pounding." He grits his teeth.

"That makes two of us." Klaus chuckles and then winces. He lands a playful punch to Diego's arm. "At least I get some quality time with my favorite bro, right?"

"I thought that was Ben?" Diego locks brown eyes with green and huffs.

" _Living_ brother." Klaus corrects himself, smirking.

"Well…" the darkly dressed man starts, a grin slowly playing across his face. "I'm kinda glad Ben's not here right now to hear all this…"

He pauses.

"You've always been my favorite, too, man"

Klaus raises his brows, grinning from ear to ear and as he opens his mouth to speak, Diego cuts him off. "And if you tell _anyone_ , you'll join Ben in the afterlife. You hear me?" But he's still smiling as he says it. Of course he's not serious. Okay maybe only half serious. He'd never hurt his brother though.

He feels like he's hurt him enough already.

Aside from the light rain padding against the warehouse and cold wind filtering through broken windows, silence settles around them for a few long drawn out seconds.

Klaus swallows heavily. "You look like you could use some sleep Di." He finally chimes in, his voice low and strained.

Klaus had a habit of not taking his own suffering into account, instead worrying over his siblings to the point it was unsettling. He would rather pretend everything is ok than drag everyone else down with him.

The Kraken sucked air in through his teeth, and held his breath for a few seconds before exhaling. "I'll be fine." He stares at his brother wearly. "You're the one with a fever. Besides, someone's gotta keep watch."

A long pause followed by a mumbled 'Yeah yeah, okay fine.' could be heard as Klaus leaned back carefully against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, legs pulled up, and eyes sliding closed. He wasn't even gonna try to argue with him.

Diego gives Klaus' knee a few pats before sliding up next to him. "I'll be right here, okay?"

He just hums a response back and before long, he drifts off to sleep.

Diego sits awhile and then pulls out the screwdriver he found earlier, dragging the tip across the ground, attempting to sharpen the end. If he was gonna use it as a weapon, it needed to be sharp enough to stick.

Sitting around here was no different than his stake outs during his vigilante work. He could fight the boredom a number of ways if he really wanted to, but he had his brother to look after now. So that's what he planned on doing.

About an hour passes.

Two doesn't plan on sleeping at all, but he's in and out of consciousness, when there's a faint flash somewhere in the warehouse and he jolts, completely awake.

The warehouse was already dark enough with the storm brewing outside, but the sun had gone down enough that it was now incredibly dark, so the flash of what he assumed to be lightning stood out.

He waits for the rumble, but there isn't one.

_That_ doesn't sit well within the pit of Diego's stomach.


	4. Room for Amusement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When an unexpected visitor shows up, Diego follows his vigilante instincts, only to fall into some shenanigans instead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came out a bit longer than the previous, but I kind of lost control and had fun. I was pretty busy today and kinda tired so here we are. Enjoy!

Diego feels unsettled by the flash of light towards the back of the warehouse.

He pockets the screwdriver, then reaches over to make sure his brother is still next to him and touches his arm. Klaus stirs, but doesn't wake, his breathing steady.

Two keeps his hand on Four's arm and holds his breath to listen. There's a singular voice. He can't make out what it's saying thanks to the chorus of rain drops outside the walls, but his instincts kick in and he firmly shakes his brother.

"Klaus." His voice is just above a whisper.

" _Klaus!_ " He tries again, more gruff this time.

There's a groan before Klaus pushes himself up, sloppily, with one arm. "D'ego, wh't the h-elllll." He slurs and blinks as his eyes adjust to the darkness. "Why's it s'dark?" 

Diego shushes him.

"Someone's here. C'mon, up." Diego pulls his brother up with him as quietly as possible and guides him over behind a stack of crates near the wall. They sit behind them, Klaus' back to one and Diego crouched down next to him, looking over the top of it.

No one should be able to get the jump on them in this spot, and Diego can see a good portion of the room from their position. Well…for a mostly dark room that is.

Klaus is still registering the situation, groggy from being woken up so suddenly. He rubs his eyes sleepily, then drops his head into his hands, groaning again.

Diego feels bad for waking him, but he had no choice. Someone else was here and the flash sent red flags.

He gently nudges his brother. "Hey bro, do you happen to have a lighter?"

Klaus sits quietly for a moment to think. He hums and sluggishly digs around in his vest pockets until he finds what he's after. "Yeah, right here." Voice straining, he nudges back and hands it off to Diego.

He finds half a pack of forgotten cigarettes stuffed in one of his other pockets. Finally something to take the edge off, he thinks.

A few tiny sparks followed by a flame lights up the surrounding area and Klaus squints as his headache punches him in the gut. The sudden light hurts his eyes. "Ooh god…"

Diego looks over at him. "Sorry, man." And before shifting his gaze back up, he catches Klaus waving him off with his HELLO hand as he buries his face in the GOODBYE' one. "S'okay. All good. M'fine"

Shaky digits come into view only seconds later, inching a cigarette towards the flame. Diego whips his head around to see Klaus smiling sheepishly at him as he grabs his wrist with a free hand and stops him abruptly.

"Really, dude?" He stares him down in disbelief.

Four looks up at him, eyes narrowing. "What?"

"For starters-" Diego nudges him with his shoulder. "-you're _sick_." He nods his head toward the center of the room. "And is _now_ really a good time for that?" There was a hint of annoyance.

Klaus hesitates, then sighs. "Ugh, fiiine."

Diego lets go of his brother's wrist and Klaus takes the loss with a grumble, shoving the cig back into the box and tossing it over his shoulder. It hits the floor with a small thud.

Two elevates himself a bit so he can get a better look of the room and when he hears footsteps, he closes the flame off and drops back down quickly. "Can't see shit." He whispers, grinding his teeth.

There's silence for a time, followed by careful footsteps, and more whispers. The room gets brighter and more lit up as their 'visitor' delves deeper into the room, getting closer to them. A light wavers around the room. Must be a flashlight.

Klaus has spun himself around to face the box, still keeping himself below the top of it and close to Diego. He's awake enough to be aware now.

"Do you think it's one of those temporal guys?" He asks, keeping his voice as low as he can.

Diego shrugs as he keeps his eyes glued to the empty space ahead, expectantly waiting for whoever it was to do _something_. _Anything_.

Just then, Two feels something abruptly grab his arm, startling him. It was Klaus. He had his long fingers wrapped around Diego's upper arm, in a vice grip. He appeared shaken and tense. Eyes closed. The darkness is getting to him and even the rain can't drown out the voices.

Klaus starts mumbling quietly, curling in on himself. He tightens his grip on Diego's arm and it's distracting the vigilante, but he doesn't get mad at him. His brother seems scared out of his wits. He wasn't sure if it was because of their current situation or the ghosts that were hanging around. He wasn't aware of the effect the darkness actually had on Klaus though.

Another minute passes.

Footsteps again and someone is moving into their line of sight. All Diego can make out is a dark silhouette and as soon as he sees them, he ducks down again.

At this point, Klaus is trembling and mumbling nonstop. Breathing shallow. Diego catches some of the ramblings, deducing that the ghosts are closing in and being too loud.

His brother is on the verge of a panic attack.

Even though he can't hear them himself, he reaches around to Klaus' right ear, covering it and pushing the left side of his head into his shoulder to cover the other. "I've gotcha, bro."

Whether Klaus heard him or not, he wasn't sure, but he felt him relax at least.

More whispers draw Diego's attention back out towards the center of the room and he cranes his neck to look over the box again.

This time they're close enough that Diego can hear over the rain. He can make out a few of the words like 'equations' and 'calculations'.

When he hears a sharp _'Shit_.' bounce around the room, something dawns on him then. 

Diego looks down at Klaus with a bewildered look, mouthing 'I think it's…'

He gives pause. 'Five?' Exaggerating the number by rolling his teeth off his bottom lip.

The medium returns the gaze with brows furrowed in disbelief, mouthing back a 'Really? Are you sure?'

Klaus pulls away from Diego's hold to listen and there's a loud thud followed by a hiss and an angry 'Fuck!'.

Oh yeah, that's definitely Five. The little shit.

Now they're both looking at each other, as if silently relaying a message through stares alone. Klaus has found a distraction from the ghosts and Diego, some entertainment.

Diego lets go of his brother and pulls out the screwdriver, bumping Klaus with his elbow. "Watch this." he whispers as Klaus smirks with amusement, headache and ghosts temporarily forgotten.

Despite the darkness, The Kraken easily throws and curves the tool through the air, having it hit one of the wooden boxes next to Five. He's in the middle of bending down and picking something up off the floor when he shoots back up at the sound of it embedding itself into wood.

He looks around, flashlight in hand. "What the hell?" And then he shines it on the screwdriver that was _not_ stuck into the box only moments before, vibrations continuously carrying through it from the impact until it stills.

Five yanks it out aggressively, his mouth pulled into a straight line of annoyance as he inspects the object in hand before panning around the room again. He grips it tightly in his hand.

Klaus reaches back to pick up the discarded cigarette pack and Diego gets ready to question him, until he throws it over the box in Five's direction. It lands next to him, sliding to a stop and his eyes dart over to them. He doesn't bother picking those up.

Five looks around again, his face twisted into a scowl. He walks around slowly, cautiously, calculating, like a predator looking for its prey and cocks an eyebrow when he hears shuffling.

He stops.

The beam of his flashlight quickly settles on the boxes his two brothers are hiding behind.

He holds up the screwdriver. "I know you're there, you idiot." Five rolls his eyes unamused and sighs as Diego slowly pokes his head out from behind the box, a grin plastered on his face.

Five's about to open his mouth to say something, but doesn't expect Klaus' head to pop up next, along with his HELLO hand. He's wincing now.

He raises his eyebrows and looks back over at the cigarettes on the floor. "Oh...well that makes sense." A rather surprised tone.

The time jumper looks back at his brothers, the knife thrower now standing straight up, gripping the edge of the box and their lanky brother propping himself up against the crate with one hand pressed flat to the top, his other hand rubbing one of his temples.

Instead of walking like any normal person, Five jumps in a flash over to the top of the box next to them and sits, legs dangling off the edge.

He deposits a book he'd been carrying down next to him, as well as the flashlight, beam still lit. Then he turns his body enough to look at his brothers, this time closer to eye level.

They just stare at one another, not sure where to start. Things are a lot easier when you're fucking with your youngest-oldest sibling and almost getting away with it. But now Diego and Klaus looked like two party goers that had their party crashed.

Diego decides to sit on the other side of the crate at an angle so he can face Five and Klaus turns to lean back against it instead, facing away from him.

The silence feels awkward until Five thankfully pierces through it.

"I'm glad I decided to come here…are you guys okay?" It was a genuine question from Five. Yeah, he was arrogant and full of himself at times, but he means well and cares about his family a lot. Even if they annoy the shit out of him.

Diego shrugs. "More or less." He tilts his head towards their brother. "Klaus is sick though. Has a fever."

They watch as Klaus just stands there covering his ears, mumbling about voices again.

Five looks unimpressed. "Is he…?"

Diego immediately shoots back to cut him off, shaking his head. "No no, it's withdrawal. He's sober." He says the last bit matter-of-factly and without a hint of doubt.

"No shit?" Genuine surprise from the boy.

He repeats back as he sets the lighter down next to him. "No shit."

There's a long pause.

Diego wastes no time and cuts to the chase, breaking the silence "So uh...Five." He swallows and looks his smaller sibling in the eye. "When are we?" His tone was a low questioning one, but full of curiosity.

Five just smiles smugly at him, as if he'd just won the lottery.


	5. Second Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five sheds some light on the situation, a small heart to heart is had, and Diego learns some new information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kind words everyone, I do enjoy writing for these lovely boys and I'm getting back into the feel of writing in general, which has been really fun! I've never been this motivated before, ya know?
> 
> Anyway, thanks again as always, I appreciate all of you. Enjoy!

"When are we?" Diego had asked, straightforward and to the point. He'd been dying to know and now that Five was here, he could hopefully shed some light on their current situation.

Five would love to flash his hubris on the matter, he was sure.

Aaaand there's that stupid smug-ass smile Five always gave, when he felt important and informative. He was like one of those big colorful textbooks they used in school...if a textbook could actually snap your neck without any remorse.

Diego pulls a face when this thought crosses his mind. Why it did in the first place he isn't sure, and it's hard yet terrifying to imagine being murdered by a textbook.

He chalks it up to being tired.

Five stares at him, seemingly amused at his expression and then gets back to the question at hand.

"2017" He states flatly. "I was hoping to stay in our current year, but I guess this will have to do for now." Five finishes with a long sigh.

Diego clicks his tongue, letting the information sink in. This means several things. Luther is still on the moon. Allison is still in LA. Reginald, unfortunately still alive. Five, still gone. Ben...still dead. He assumes Vanya would still be doing her violin thing, he'd be doing his vigilante stuff...and Klaus would be out on the streets doing God-knows-what.

He processes the year, but doesn't say anything in regards to it. Diego still doesn't really understand how alternate timelines work. He'll have to ask Five for a more in-depth explanation later.

Two glances at Four out of the corner of his eye, then. Klaus is slumped over and has his arms crossed over the top of the crate, forehead pressing up against them.

The medium startles when he feels a hand on his back.

"Whoa. Sorry." Diego leans down and tilts his head to get a better look at his brother. "How're you holding up, bro?"

Klaus lifts his head and turns it to glance at him. His eyes are reddened, probably from lack of sleep and withdrawal kicking his ass. The darkened spots under his eyes are more prominent, even with the smeared eyeliner. His eccentricity is taking a back seat and he looks worse than he had before.

"Feel like...a train wreck" His voice is small and wavering. "Skin is on fire." He coughs out the last word as if it actually burned his tongue on the way out. He closes his eyes and lays his head back down with a hum, uncrossing his arms to cover his ears with his hands. "And these assholes won't shut up."

Diego rubs circles into his brother's back, brows furrowed with worry. Five watches as his bigger brother comforts their slighter one and concern splays across his features.

Diego slides his gloves off, depositing them onto their makeshift table next to Five's book and presses the backs of his fingers against Klaus' cheek. He can feel the heat radiating off of him, as Klaus leans into the cool touch.

He moves his hand to gently grip Klaus' shoulder.

Five locks eyes with Diego when they exchange glances and there's a rare moment where Five actually _looks_ like his 13 year old self. Innocent, lost, and unsure.

The small assassin slides himself off of the box and goes over to stand at Diego's side. "Is he okay?" The question throws Two off a moment.

It takes a few seconds for Diego to think. "I don't know." He bites his lower lip. "He's hotter than he was when I first found hi-"

His hand is suddenly elevated, a chuckle causing him to stop and he turns his head back towards Klaus, eyes narrowed.

"I kn'w I look g-ood, Di, but _daaamn_." The slurring is back.

Diego's dark eyes meet tired, sparkling green ones and a weak cheshire-like grin spreads across the medium's face. Klaus is standing now, hands gripping the edge of the container to keep himself steady.

_Really? He's_ **_still_ ** _making jokes._

The vigilante rolls his eyes and swipes his hand down his face, eyes trained heavily on the strange specimen that is Klaus Hargreeves for a moment. He swallows.

"Klaus-"

His brother drifts off to look around at the shadows Five's flashlight castes on the walls and floor.

"Klaus, hey!" Diego snaps his fingers in front of his face to pull his attention back. "Look at me."

His lanky brother's eyes snap back toward him. "Yes brother dear?" Klaus rasps.

Diego purses his lips and squeezes the slender man's shoulder. "You should try and get some sleep. You haven't really slept any since we've gotten here." His brow crinkling with concern again.

There's a huff "You haven't either, Diego" Klaus shoots back. Diego sighs.

"Really, I'm fiiiine." Klaus whines.

Despite the protests, he grabs his brother's shoulders and guides him toward the wall, pushing him down to sit and crouches down in front of him. "Please, just get some rest." He pleads and nods his head in Five's direction, who continues watching them from his spot by the crate. "I'll be right over there if you need anything, okay?"

The brothers have a short-lived staring contest, Klaus finally giving into Diego's sharp-as-knives gaze. "Okay fine, fine…" He shakes his head, defeated, and carefully leans back against the wall. By the time his eyes slide closed, he's out.

Klaus really was exhausted.

Diego brushes sweaty strands of hair from Klaus' forehead and smiles softly at him before standing up and making his way back over to Five.

Five swallows. "When did you get so…" He speaks slowly and gestures over towards Klaus with his hand.

Diego stops, looking over to Klaus. "What?" And then back to Five, raising a brow at him.

Five gives him pause and chews his lip. "Good at _that_?" He says with genuine curiosity.

Number Two continues his walk over to lean against the wooden container. He has to mull it over for a minute to really understand what Five meant and sucks air through his teeth. He was _never_ good at feelings and emotions, or being tender to anyone (unless Eudora counted, but this has to do with his family. His Mom was the only other person he could be soft with.)

Five is being uncharacteristically patient with him.

Diego looks down at his feet. "When I realized how shitty of a brother I've been…" He trails off.

His own words sting him deeply, but they also have an effect on Five. The small boy approaches his brother, standing in the spot next to him and jumps up to sit on the edge of the makeshift table.

"We've all been pretty shitty." Five looks straight ahead and nudges Diego with his elbow. "Least we get a second chance now.

This earns a look from Diego. He grins at his 'younger' brother. "And when did _you_ get so caring?" His voice is low and grainy, but laced with just as much curiosity.

Five whips his head around to look, brows furrowed. "Hey, are you saying I never cared?" He sounds slightly offended, but closes his eyes and shakes his head, opening them again to look forward. "No. Wait. Okay, that's fair." He sighs.

Five's mouth straightens into a thin line. "It was when I realized you idiots really are all I have." His gaze is distant.

They sit in silence for a while, the rain only a small drizzle now, until Five looks at Diego again and raises his brows. "Well, maybe not Allison. Or...Ben. They're not idiots." He broke eye contact again, going back to a distant stare towards one of the walls.

Diego, mildly offended, turns to Five and opens his mouth, but closes it upon seeing that the boy already turned away from him. He decides to leave it and change the subject instead.

"Speaking of which-"

There's nothing more than a hum next to him, prompting him to continue.

"Do you have any idea where everyone else is? Have you seen the rest of our siblings yet?" He looks at Five who was still locked into a distant gaze before meeting his brother's eyes again.

Five holds his breath for a few seconds and exhales. "After I landed, I had to rest for a bit. Pulling you all along really took a lot out of me." He shakes his head. "I haven't really had the chance to look around yet." Five shrugs and winces at the thought of their other siblings still being unaccounted for.

Diego's next question catches the time traveller off guard. "What are the chances Ben made it here with us?" Five raises a brow, but is left confused.

The air feels heavy as Five takes in a sharp breath. "I have no idea…" are the only words that leave his lips. For once, even Five looks defeated.

He looks around a moment as if trying to find something hidden off in the shadows somewhere. "Is he not here?" He questions, voice wavering.

Diego taps his fingers against the wood. "Klaus hasn't seen him since we got here." He shakes his head and shuffles his foot around on the floor.

"Shit…I hope he's out there somewhere." There's a hint of desperation and longing in his voice. "He'll find Klaus eventually, I'm sure. He always seems to."

Five quickly decides to jump subjects this time.

He sighs. "I know he's going through withdrawal-" Five pauses and looks over at Klaus. "-but I figured he would have been used to this the second time around." The boy's brows are furrowed and his bottom lip juts out, making him look more like a pouting teen and not a mentally 58 year old man.

Diego is now looking at Five with an intensity that he rarely shows. "What do you mean, second time around?" Each word cutting through the air.

Oh fuck.

Five freezes and looks down before he looks his brother in the eye. "He never told you…?" He asks, slowly and carefully. Diego has always had a short fuse and he doesn't want to set him off.

Diego huffs. "Tell me _what_ , Five?" He snaps.

Five drags his hand down his face, then straightens up. "The dog tags? The new tattoo?? His vest???"

Silence.

Five squints. "None of that tipped you off?" He says flatly and unimpressed.

His vigilante-of-a-brother stands there looking between him and Klaus in disbelief, but Five can find the exact moment his gears start turning.

"I swear to God if you're fucking with me right now Five-" He balls his fists up trying to calm himself down.

Five swallows down his irritance and nods towards Klaus. "If you calm down and stop shouting, I'll explain it to you okay?" He bites every word out, grinding his teeth and Diego follows his gaze over to their sleeping brother.

Klaus stirs and groans, but doesn't wake and they both sigh in relief.

Diego turns back to Five. "Right...okay, sorry." He huffs.

Five straightens up and takes a deep breath before continuing. "You should probably sit down first." He states, and Diego does just that.


	6. Responsibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego and Five have a more in-depth discussion about their brother's whereabouts prior to the jump, some realizations surface, and Five makes the decision to be better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so it's been almost a week since the last update. Sorry for the wait! Things have been picking up and getting busy for me.
> 
> This chapter ended up about as long as the last. I actually had to rewrite once because my thought process has been off the last few days and the flow felt off to me so yeah, it took a bit longer than I had hoped. 
> 
> But here it is in all it's glory I guess, so enjoy!

Five and Diego were probably the only two who could hold an intense staring contest without breaking a sweat, and they were both good at reading people and situations. What Diego lacked, however, was Five's 58 years of experience that had shone in his eyes whenever he talked about his old job, the apocalypse, or their family. It always reminded Two of just how long Five actually spent alone in the remnants of humanity and part of him wanted to wrap his arms around his smallest sibling, to tell him everything would be okay. The other part of him fears that if he does, his textbook-toting brother will stab him with one of his own knives. Joke's on him, he's all out of those.

Five breaks the lingering silence with a quiet clear of his throat. "Remember when Luther and I were on the highway with Cha-Cha and Hazel?" He rolls his eyes at the memory. "Before your little ice cream truck escapade." He tacks on with an amused smile.

This snaps Diego back into reality. He shoots Five a look of confused acknowledgement. "Uh...yeah. What about it?"

Five clicks his tongue. "Well, we had to trick them into believing we had their briefcase…" He pauses.

Diego stares at him listlessly.

"Our brother Klaus here, stole it after he got away from them. He took a ten month trip, came back...aaand then he destroyed it." He bites the last part out flatly, looking towards the floor in mild disgust. "That's when I-"

Two's eyes narrow and he holds his hand out to stop him. "Wait wait wait, so they _actually_ took him?" He eyes Five incredulously. "Klaus said they tortured him but…he had no wounds on him."

He momentarily forgets all the other shit his brother just laid out to him.

Diego looked bewildered now. He wanted to believe him, he really did. But it was hard to when Klaus seemed physically fine that day and hadn't elaborated on anything outside of having lost someone. Or maybe Diego just didn't show enough interest for Klaus to be more open with him. Now he felt like shit for what he had said to him before. And even worse for not believing him.

Diego closes his eyes a moment to let the memory seep into the cracks of his mind.

_Well, you're luckier than most. When you lose someone, at least you can...see them whenever you want._

When he opens them again, he finds Five staring at him like he's grown a second head.

His small brother leans forward, folding his hands into his lap. "As I said before, he traveled to who-knows-where for ten months. I assume his wounds healed long before he even got back." He casts his eyes upward pensively. "Time travel can do that."

The words _ten months_ now rattled around in Diego's head and it made him feel sick with unease. "How long have you known about this, Five?" The words were catching in his throat as his jaw clenched and his anger threatened to spill over.

Five rubs the back of his neck and glances down at the floor before meeting Diego's eyes again. He swallows. "I've known since he got back. I could just...tell." He trails off, the last word slowly dropping off into the void. "When I asked him about it, he dodged me. Never told me where or when, just for how long."

He'd have to ask Five more about symptoms of time travel later. It seemed like an interesting topic to breach and he'd be willing to learn more about it, if not for their current situation. But right now, he felt the acid in his stomach trying to rise up and had to force it back down.

Five cuts through the lingering silence. "The dog tags stood out to me more than anything." He purses his lips, looking intensely at Diego as he tilted his head. "Klaus said they belonged to a friend."

Something clicks in his mind.

Diego sighs deeply, dispelling his anger enough to continue their discussion. "Klaus had me drop him off at a VFW bar in town the day after the house was attacked." He looks down sheepishly. "I was gonna leave, but he looked really upset so I went in after him."

He goes silent.

They sat in silence for a moment, until Diego spoke up again, taking care to keep his voice low. "Do you think this has anything to do with where he went? I mean...one of the Marines there denied Klaus when he claimed to be a veteran."

Diego followed up with a shrug. "I just assumed he had too much to drink."

Five huffs. He's not sure how to respond, so he makes a suggestion instead. "Maybe you should ask him about it." His words lacked the edge they normally had, which unsettled Diego just a little bit.

"Klaus is an elusive bastard, Five. And he never tells anyone anything." He scoffs. Diego knew he wasn't going to get anything out of their mess-of-a-brother unless he wanted them to know.

Diego's face softens as he looks over at Klaus, who was now laid over on his side, back pressed into the groove between the wall and floor. His right arm was tucked under his head, hand serving as a makeshift pillow and his other hand was loosely pressed against his left ear. Seeing his brother trying to fight off the ghosts even in his sleep, broke his heart.

"He's been through so much shit and we n-never bothered asking if he was okay." He slams his fist down against the top of the crate out of impulse, leaving it there. "And when I got the chance, I s-still didn't m-make the effort to see if h-he was _really_ okay."

Five knew Diego hid his emotions behind cold walls of bitterness and aggression, so it stuns him into silence when he sees the walls come down, crumbling into a messy heap of rubble around him.

He faces Five again, on the verge of tears as everything suddenly hits him all at once. "When he was screaming all those nights, I didn't do anything. He goes m-missing for almost a whole day...after an attack no less, and I d-d-didn't do a _damn_ t-thing!" He snaps.

Diego slams his other fist down, then lays his head between his hands on the wooden surface, as he grabs the edge and holds onto it for dear life. He flinches when he feels a small gentle hand hesitantly land on the back of his head, but he doesn't look up.

It was unusual for Five to show any kind of affection towards anyone (sans Dolores). And while the gesture may have been very miniscule, it spoke volumes. He wasn't alone.

"We all screwed up, Diego. It wasn't just you." His voice was grainy and laced with the sadness of a 13 year old boy.

The words were oddly comforting, despite the fact they were delivered by Five, of all people.

Five clears his dry throat. "If it weren't for me, he never would have been kidnapped in the first place." He admits openly, his gaze falling onto the book sitting next to him, to avoid looking at his brother.

As Diego lifts his head back up, he grabs Five's hand gingerly and pulls it away. When he releases it, Five lets it fall to his side onto the box lid with a light thud.

Diego quickly swipes the back of his hand across his eyes to dry them and shakes his head, looking down towards the floor. He winces. "When are we actually gonna start taking responsibility for our actions?" His voice just above a whisper, asking no one in particular.

Five looks thoughtfully at his brother. "Right now." His mouth tilts into a half-frown as he slides off his perch.

Two is caught off guard, his eyes following his smallest sibling as he takes only a step or so towards him. "I'll go find some medicine." He nods in the direction of their brother. "Klaus is gonna need it..." He trails off.

Diego's face becomes slightly panic-stricken. Klaus is a recovering addict so medicine could cause him to relapse if they're not careful.

Before Diego can say anything, Five beats him to the punch. "I know he's sober right now, but as long as I find something light, he should be fine." He reassures him. "Something to bring the fever down and fight the headache some." The boy tries for a genuine smile, but it just looks awkward on him.

Still, Diego is grateful and he reaches over to ruffle Five's hair on impulse. Before he can, the little gremlin swiftly catches him by the wrist. "Please don't." He says quietly.

And with that, the vigilante pulls his hand back awkwardly, brows furrowed.

It was going to take awhile for Five to accept any affection, if ever. He didn't mean to come off as rude, but it's just the way he was. And Diego knew that so no hard feelings.

As Five moves to collect his book off the container, an awkward lingering silence weighs down the room. The rain had stopped, but the wind found its way through the broken windows every so often.

For a moment Diego is heavily focused on Klaus, who has his arms now wrapped around himself tightly. Until Five nudges him in the side.

"Is there anything you want me to bring back?"

Lots of things come to Diego's mind, but only a few were actually important. "Do you think you could..." He gives him pause. "Knives?" And of course Five rolls his eyes at this, but it was to be expected, so he doesn't question it.

"Okay?" Five questions again, prompting him to continue.

Diego looks between a shivering Klaus and an oddly patient Five. "Maybe a blanket and some food. Anything that will help Klaus right now." He tried not to sound desperate, but his brother knew better.

Five had always been impressed with Diego's altruistic nature. His brother hadn't asked for anything for himself other than the knives and Five knew for certain they would be put to use protecting Klaus first and foremost anyway.

They were both taking huge steps to be better people and better brothers now and not only did they believe in themselves, but they finally seemed to believe in each other as well.

"After this, I'm gonna go back out and start looking for the others." Five announces.

He nods towards the flashlight as he pats Diego on the shoulder. "You should hold onto that. Klaus doesn't like the dark." Five flashes a quick, reassuring smile at him as he positions the book under one arm and sticks his free hand into his pocket.

"Hold down the fort, I'll be back soon."

Diego throws a quick nod his way. "Be careful, bro."

Five just nods back, and in a flash of blue he was gone.

As silence fills the warehouse again, Diego immediately takes the flashlight and makes his way over to Klaus. He sets the flashlight down so the beam faces away from them, but still lights the area with a dim glow.

Diego sits to the right, gingerly lifting Klaus' upper body, and slides himself over so his legs are under him. His little brother whimpers at first, but drifts off again as Diego hushes and soothes him, a warm hand stroking his arm for comfort and the other, softly running fingers through his curls. Klaus seems to react to the warmth and reaches up to grip Diego's leg. He looks down and smiles at him fondly.

Diego is ready to be someone Klaus can count on no matter what. So he'll stay by him as long as he needs.

He whispers into the air. "I love you, bro..." And slowly drifts off.


	7. Vulnerable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five has a rare moment when he's alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey it's been a long while since I last updated! Things have been really busy and got even busier during the pandemic. I wanted to wait until I had something longer, but this has been sitting in my docs for long enough and I think I should at least post it. Updates might still be pretty slow after this, so apologies for that!
> 
> And I apologize for how short this chapter is and I dunno if I like it, but I wanted to get SOMETHING out again.

The night makes a good cover for Five's trip to one of the pharmacies in town. It's easy to slip in with a spatial jump during after hours, but the darkness will make it more annoying to find the medicine he's searching for. As he walks the aisles, he closely inspects the fronts of the boxes and bottles lining the shelves, the street lights outside serving as his only light source. He had found another flashlight, but chose to save it for emergencies instead of draining the batteries and the last thing he wanted was to draw possible attention. The boy's finger drifts slowly over each label, carefully and cautiously. After a few minutes, his eyes are adjusted enough to read some of them and his gaze falls upon a bottle sitting on one of the lower shelves.

Five snatches it from it's perch and holds it up far enough for the light to reach, thoughtfully looking over the wording.

"Tylenol...should be fine." He furrows his brows and murmurs quietly into the air before throwing it into a bag he "borrowed" from Gimbel Brothers. It lands with a jostling thud to join a few sets of throwing knives and food he looted from elsewhere beforehand.

Instead of leaving right then, he lingers a bit in the aisle.

Five had never been the emotional type and being stuck in an apocalyptic wasteland really hardened him, but something was stirring in the ex-assassin that threatened to eat him alive from the inside out. He could feel warm tears starting to trickle down his face. He crouches down and lets his emotions take hold of him. It's not like anyone was watching, right? No witnesses.

The thing is, he felt relieved. He thought he screwed up this time and lost his family again. Of course it was just two out of five (or could it be six now?) of his living siblings, but that's better than none. He isn't alone.

Five folds his arms across the tops of his legs and buries his face into them. He welcomes the silence surrounding him, taking it all in.

And he weeps, quietly.

He feels somewhat disgusted with himself. After years of living in the ruins of humanity, he was certain he had shed away what little emotion he had left. It turns out he was wrong. Guess he can't be right all the time, huh?

As the last drops are squeezed from his eyes, the old soul dries them with one of his sleeves. Like hell he was going back to his brothers looking like this. They'd never let him live it down. Not unless he threatened them, but they were all working on being a better family now...so threats were out of the question.

Five sits a while longer before standing and heaves the bag over his shoulder. Then in a flash of blue, he's gone.

**Author's Note:**

> There might be a few pauses in between updates depending on what I have going on.
> 
> I wasn't planning on this being more than a one-shot, but I love and adore these two brothers so very much...so too bad. There WILL be more.
> 
> If you wanna come by and talk about TUA with me ever, you can find me over on my blog, the-updog-academy.tumblr!


End file.
